


'Ohana Means Family

by Strangeredlantern, Vague_Shadows



Category: Lilo & Stitch (2002), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU - Lilo & Stitch, Alpha!Laura, Alternate Universe - Crack, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aquaphobia, Claustrophobia, Fluff and Crack, Kid!Derek, Kid!Isaac
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-03-25 05:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3798691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangeredlantern/pseuds/Strangeredlantern, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vague_Shadows/pseuds/Vague_Shadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crack!fic AU based off of the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch</p><p>Derek has begged and begged and begged Laura to find a new beta for the pack.  It’s just the two of them now that mom and dad are gone, and Laura can’t seem to find the balance between being Derek’s parent and being his big sister.  But when Laura gets called to the school because Derek's in trouble for punching a kid in the face...and biting him...and pulling his hair…She thinks maybe Derek’s pleas for a playmate might not be the worst idea ever.  Worth a shot, right? Their house is probably better than the Omega home, and if if doesn’t work out, she can give custody back.<br/>They need a change; this could be it.<br/>Or this could be a fucking catastrophe...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Little"

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me how this popped in my head, but it did; so here you go, and I hope you like it.

*****************************************LAURA******************************************

 

Derek has begged and begged and _begged_ Laura to find a new beta for the pack.  It’s just the two of them now that mom and dad are gone, and Laura can’t seem to find the balance between being Derek’s parent and being his big sister.  She’d hoped all the acting out was a phase, but it’s becoming more and more apparent that he’s just _different_ from the other kids.  Maybe it’s the growing-up-too-fast that came in the wake of their parents’ deaths. Maybe it’s the fact that some of his kindergarten classmates are just little assholes.  

_Like that Whittemore kid.  He’s gonna be a piece of work when he grows up.  God help his future betas._

But when Laura gets called to the school to force Derek to apologize for punching the Whittemore kid in the face...and biting him...and pulling his hair…She thinks maybe Derek’s pleas for a playmate might not be the worst idea ever.  Worth a shot, right? Their house is probably better than the Omega home, and if if doesn’t work out, she can give custody back.  They need a change; this could be it.

_Or this could be a fucking catastrophe..._

            “I hate you, you know,” Derek mutters as he climbs into the backseat of the car.  

            “Yeah, I know,” Laura grumbles back, “but I got a surprise for you.”

            He remains sullen and pouty for a few moments more before giving in.

            “What?” he wonders.

            “I think that maybe, _maybe_ you’re right about adding someone else to the pack.”

            “What?! Really?! If you’re kidding I’m gonna claw up everything you love, Laura! _Everything!_ ”

            “I’m not kidding,” she replies, “BUT there’s a condition!”

            “What?” he asks suspiciously.  

            “We’re still a tiny pack around here.  If we start causing too much trouble, they’re gonna disband the pack.”

            “And you’ll be omega and probably die slow and painful in a ditch someplace and I’m gonna go to the omega home and probably wish I was dying slow and painful in a ditch someplace,” Derek replies with his usual unsettlingly morbid take on things.

            “Something like that, so if this new beta starts causing trouble or drawing too much attention, we might have to take them back.”

            “Take them back?” Derek pouts, “but what about ‘ohana?”

            “Hopefully that doesn’t happen; I’m just reminding you that this isn’t set in stone, okay? We gotta be careful who we pick, and you gotta help me out making things work with the new beta, okay?”

            “Yeah, okay,” Derek agrees, “Whoever we get can’t be worse than Jackson,” he supposes, “And I can even get along with him--well, mostly.”

            “And we’re gonna work on that too.”

            “So when are we getting the beta? Can we go now? Please; please; _please_?!”

            “Tomorrow,” Laura says.  “We’ll get things set up for him tonight.”

            “Him? It’s gonna be another boy? Like I’m getting a brother?”

            “Well, I hadn’t really thought about it.  What do you think?”

            “I want a brother,” Derek replies, “I already got a sister,” he points out, wrinkling a nose as though Laura’s been a thorough disappointment in that area.

            “Okay.”

            “And I get to pick out who it is?” Derek says.  “‘Cause, you know, it was _my_ idea in the first place.”

            She rolls her eyes but acquiesces, “Yeah, you can pick.”

            _You’ve got to get along with this new beta, so I may as well save myself the trouble and let Derek help with the whole process._

 

*****************************************DEREK******************************************

 

            The Omega house looks every bit as scary as Laura makes it seem when she says Derek might get taken here if they can’t make the Hale Pack work without Mom and Dad.  The paint is peeling off the walls in a lot of places.  The lights seem too dim and there aren’t enough windows.  It smells gross--like old cheese and feet.  Derek wonders how many little omegas are here, and if maybe they can take more than just one.  He’d hate to be stuck in a place like this--it’s way worse than having Laura for an Alpha.

            The nice lady at the front desk says her name is Melissa.  She takes Laura to an office and gives her lots of papers to sort through.  She says they’re the profiles of all the omegas living here.  

            “Are you looking to add particular kind of beta?” she wonders when Laura looks at the stack like it’s going to sprout fangs and bite her.  “A particular age? Gender? IQ?”

“A boy,” Derek replies readily, “My age, but not older.  I don’t wanna be the youngest anymore.”

She smiles kindly at him, and Derek thinks he likes Miss Melissa.  

“Well, I think we have several candidates that might be a good fit,” she replies, pulling out some folders from the larger stack and offering them to Laura.  “Maybe you could look through these, and Derek could go and meet a few of them in the playroom down the hall?  To see if he clicks well with anyone?”

“I--uh--yeah--yeah, that sounds good,” Laura says as she shuffles the papers in front of her.  “Play nice, Derek, okay?”

“Duh,” he replies.  “We want them to _like_ us.”

“Play nice,” she repeats.

“I will,” he agrees as he takes Miss Melissa’s hand and follows her out of the office and down to the playroom.

She nudges him gently when he hesitates at the doorway, announcing, “Everyone, this is Derek.”

He’s bombarded by a sea of young werewolves.  Some of them are older than he is, by maybe a couple years because they’re not _that_ much taller.  They all want him to come play with the legos or draw on the chalkboard or paint or play house.  Nobody seems to stick out, and he doesn’t know who to pick.  

“I--uh--I--” he stammers, looking back at Miss Melissa for assistance.

“Let’s not overwhelm him, okay guys?” she says.  “Everybody go back to what you were doing, and Derek will join you in a minute or two.”

“Yes, Miss McCall,” they all reply in reluctant unison, doing as they're told.

Derek surveys the room as they all return to their various table.  

_Nobody too much older than me….I don’t want another sister, do I? So not the girls...hmmm...who do I pick? who should I go play with?_

It suddenly seems like too big of a decision. He’s not so sure he wants to do this anymore.  Maybe Laura should just pick somebody and then if they’re no fun he can blame her for picking a bad packmate.

But then his eyes land on the little omega hunched into a ball in the far corner of the room.  Derek can’t tell anything besides the fact that he’s dressed like a boy and has messy blond hair because he’s got his legs drawn up close to him and his arms folded over his knees with his head down.  Derek doesn’t need to see the boy’s face to know something’s wrong.  He wonders if some of these kids are buttheads like Jackson.  Maybe they’re mean.  Before he really thinks about what he’s doing, Derek decides to go ask.

It’s not until he’s nearly across the room that Miss Melissa realizes where he’s headed.  He sees her rushing over out of the corner of his eye as all the other kids start backing away.  

“Derek, I don’t think that’s the best idea!” she warns, and he hesitates for a moment, stopping before he takes the last couple steps to the boy who still hasn’t looked up.

“Why not?” Derek wonders.

“Because he’s crazy!” one of the kids blurts.

“Yeah, he’s a ferret wolf!” another adds in.

“It’s not ferret, you doofus; it’s _feral_ ,” and older kid corrects.

“That is _enough_!” Miss Melissa says sternly.  

Derek looks at the boy again, wondering if he should just pick somebody else to play with.

_But Jackson calls me that sometimes.  And I’m not crazy or feral or any of those other names.  I’m just different.  I bet he’s just different too._

He takes the few more steps required to come close enough to the boy to touch his arm and say, “Hey,” to demand his attention.

“Derek, back up,” Miss Melissa says urgently, coming to grab his arm and pull him back as the boy raises his head to growl--but it’s not a mean growl, not really, more like he wants to seem bigger than he is.  It makes sense, the kid is kind of scrawny.  With his head up Derek can see the boy’s in his beta form,  fangs out and eyes flashing gold.

“It’s okay,” Derek says, trying to pull out of Miss Melissa’s hold.  “My big sister says everybody has control problems sometimes.  You wanna come meet her? We need a new packmate, and--”

He stops mid-sentence as the boy rushes at him and wraps his arms so tightly around Derek’s torso that he can barely breathe.  

 

 

Miss Melissa lets out a yelp and starts trying to pull them apart.

“John, let go of him!” she orders.  “Let him go!”     

“It’s okay,” Derek replies, “but--um--maybe not _so_ tight? I kinda can’t breathe.”

The boy lets go at the words, standing back and staring down at his shoes like he’s embarrassed or maybe thinks he’s in trouble.  Derek reaches to grab his arm as he says, “C’mon, come meet my sister.”  The boy--John?--winces when Derek grabs him, but the expression leaves his face after just a second or two.  They start toward the door and Derek can’t help but smirk at the astonished faces of the other omegas.

“Him?” one finally says.  “You want _him_ to be in your pack? You gotta be nuts!”

“Aiden,” Miss Melissa scolds.  

“I’m not nuts,” Derek retorts. “We’re just different,” he asserts, hoping that Laura will remember _she’s_ the one who taught him that in the first place when he introduces her to this kid who totally definitely needs to be their new packmate.

She doesn’t.  Of _course_ she doesn’t.  Because Laura is Laura and she always overreacts to _everything_.

“What the hell, Derek?” she demands, jumping to her feet with a yelp as they walk into the room.

“Hell is a bad word,” Derek points out righteously.

“Yeah, but--” she stammers, looking over Derek’s head at Miss Melissa.  “I mean--is this really the best--uh--fit for us?”

“I think your sister has a point, Derek,” Melissa says.   “John’s only been here a couple days.  There’s still a lot we have to work on. We have some great omegas that will be better fits, dear.”

“Not better than him!” Derek replies confidently. “He _needs_ us!” he tells Laura solemnly.  

“Can we--uh--have a minute?” Laura asks Miss Melissa.

“Of course.  We’ll be outside,” she says, taking John by his free arm and guiding him back out the door.  

“Derek, does is _have_ to be _this_ kid?” Laura wonders woefully.

“Yes,” Derek answers firmly.  “He’s a good fit; I can tell.”

 

 

 

*************************************************************************

 

            Laura has to get some groceries, and grocery shopping is boring, so she lets Derek and John wait outside.  John doesn’t say much, but he climbs in the rocketship ride with Derek when he puts the quarter in.  After the third ride, Derek’s out of quarters; he’s wondering how much longer Laura’s gonna take when he hears the familiar chime of the bell on Jackson’s cool blue bike.  

            “Hey, come on,” he tells John, tugging at his arm to get him to follow.  “Come meet my friends.”

            He practically has to drag John to get him to come, but he gives in eventually.  

            “Who’s the freak?” Jackson asks when they walk up.  

            “He’s my new packmate!” Derek answers.  “John.”

            “He’s the craziest, ugliest looking thing I have ever saw,” Jackson replies, wrinkling his nose.

           

 

Derek opens his mouth to protest, but before he can get any words out, John grabs the handlebars of Jackson’s bike and jerks the handlebars to the side to unseat him.  Jackson bursts into tears as he hits the ground hard.  John gets on the bike, motioning for Derek to jump on the handlebars and ride with him, and Derek does.  He can hear Jackson continuing to cry like a baby as they ride away.  Derek can’t believe John actually stole the bike.

            _Oh no! We stole a bike!_

“This is totally awesome, but we gotta give the bike back, you know,” Derek says, turning to glance back at John who’s still pedaling determinedly; he growls.  “I mean it; we’ll get in big trouble; and Laura will too.  We can’t get in trouble or they’ll disband the pack and send us both to the omega home and--”

            John stops the bike so fast that Derek flies off the handle bars, scraping his palms and knees as he falls on the hot sidewalk.  “Ow!” he complains, though the wounds start to heal immediately.  “What’d you do that for?”

            John doesn’t reply aloud, but he turns the back around to face the direction they came to convey his message.  

            “Yeah, exactly, we’ve gotta take it back,” Derek says.  “Come on.  Jackson won’t tell if I threaten to tell everyone at school how he cried when you took it away.  He likes being cool too much.”

 

***************************************************

 

By dinner time, John has not only stolen Jackson’s bike but also snapped at the snow cone cart guy, terrorized a couple of dogs, and demolished a postcard stand.  Laura has to work tonight, so they have to sit at a table in the back and try not to make trouble.  She gives them crayons and kids menus to color on, so Derek decides to make a diagram for John to explain his point.  He draws his best outline of a little werewolf and shades most of the outline in with red.

“This is your badness level; it’s unusually high for someone your size,” Derek says gravely.  “We have to fix that.”

“Derek, I told you to finish your sweet potatoes,” Laura scolds when she walks by.  “You too, John.”

“John’s troubled,” Derek informs her.  “He needs desserts.”

“You _like_ sweet potatoes,” Laura reminds.  

“Desserts!” Derek repeats, and John smiles just a little at the proposition.  

Laura sighs, but in a ‘fine you win’ kind of way.  She walks off toward the kitchen just as Jordan walks up.  

“Hey, Derek.”

“Look, Jordan! This is John!” he says excitedly.  “He’s our new packmate! We adopted him today!”

“I--uh--cool,” Jordan stammers, eyes wide as he takes in the sight of John.   Derek does kind of wish he’d transform back to human, but maybe John doesn’t feel safe yet.  “Hi, John,” he adds, but gets no reply.

“He’s shy,” Derek informs.

“Jordan, did you set yourself on fire _again_?!” Laura exclaims when she returns bearing two plates of cake.  

“Nah, just the stage,” he answers, blushing.  “Hey, Laura, I was wondering.  Maybe if you’ve got some time on your night off--”

“Jordan, I’ve told you; I have a lot to deal with right now.  I can’t,” she replies, leaving the cake for Derek and John and going to clean up the poi being thrown by some kid across the restaurant.

“Don’t worry,” Derek says when Jordan looks sad at Laura’s refusal to go out with him.  “She likes your cute butt and fancy hair.”

“Huh?”

“I know; I read her diary,” Derek explains.  

“She thinks it’s fancy?” Jordan wonders with a faint smile, running his fingers through his hair as he wanders back toward the kitchen.  

“Hey!” Derek whines when he turns attention back to the table and realizes that John is halfway through eating Derek’s piece of cake.  “That one was mine!”

John frowns, unapologetic for a moment or two before he finally slides the half-eaten piece back to Derek.  

“Yeah, we _really_ gotta work on your badness level,” Derek says moodily.

There’s a wail from across the restaurant, and Derek looks over to see the kid who’s been throwing poi now getting a spanking from his dad.  John dashes over to them, growling as he starts clawing at the dad without hesitation.  The alpha is more than a match for the little beta, and one loud growl sends John cowering under the nearest table.  Laura’s there in an instant, offering towels to help mop up the blood from the many shallow claw marks on the father’s legs.  The manager comes out too, and he looks so angry Derek decides to just stay in his chair rather than join the ruckus.  

“Isn’t that your beta?” he asks, glaring over at John.

“It’s fine,” the man says.  “Little betas lose their temper.  You probably want to work on that though,” he advises Laura with a frown.

“I appreciate your understanding, sir.  Your family’s meals are all on the house, naturally ,” the manager says as he nudges Laura over to the side to say, “and by on the house, I mean coming out of _your_ check,” he informs her.  “And I don’t think this is really--working out,” he adds with a look down at John and then over to Derek.  

“Yeah?” Laura replies, eyes flashing for just a moment.  “Well, who wants to work at this stupid place anyhow?” She turns away from the manager and extents one hand toward Derek and the other toward John.  “Come on, guys; let’s get out of here.”

Nobody says a word as they get in the car and start driving home.  John’s stayed in his human form ever since the incident at the restaurant scared him back.  He looks sad as they drive, almost as sad as Laura does, so Derek reaches over to grab his hand.  John winces at the movement and shies away.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” Derek says.  “Nobody’s gonna hurt you.”

“Is that what went wrong at the restaurant?” Laura wonders, looking back at them in the rearview mirror.  “You didn’t like that guy spanking the kid?”

John growls quietly as he nods.  

“Well, Derek’s right; nobody’s gonna hurt you, okay? I swear.  Next time, if you don’t like something, _talk_ to me, okay? Or tell Derek and he can talk to me.  It’s my job to help you guys out.  I want to.  You just gotta learn to use your words, John.”

John still doesn’t reply aloud, but he nods.

“Good.”

Laura still looks sad when they get home, and Derek can guess why.

“Did you lose your job because of John and me?” he wonders as they climb the steps to go in the house.

“Nah,” Laura replies.  “The manager’s in league with vampires; he wanted me to join up with them.”

“I _knew_ it.”

            “Ready to see the house, John?” Laura says as she unlocks the door.  “I think you’ll like it.”

            John doesn’t reply, but Derek says eagerly, “I wanna give him the tour!”

            “Okay, you give him the tour.”

            It all seems to go pretty well, at least John doesn’t seem upset.  Until Derek takes them to the room they’re going to share.

            “These are our bunk beds,” he says.  “I get the top bunk because--” he stops because John is already swinging himself up on the top bunk like he’s claiming it anyway.  “Hey!” he protests and John growls down at him.  “I said that one was _mine_!” he asserts, throwing a pillow at John’s head in annoyance.

            John growls, transforming again as he swats a clawed hand at the pillow, shredding it so that the stuffing goes everywhere.  

            “Hey, stop it!” Derek demands.  “Come on, we’re still touring.  Pay attention.  So this is our room and that’s the closet and--”

            At the mention of it, John jumps down from the top bunk, shoving Derek down as he lands and bolts out of the room.  He runs toward the kitchen, wrenching open drawers so hard they come out of the cabinet and land with a clatter on the floor.  Derek guesses he’s searching for something he can’t find, but he doesn’t know what the heck it could be.  

            “Quit it! You’re making a mess!”

            “What in the world is going on in here?!” Laura demands as she comes in.

            John hurls a knife toward them in the next instant, but Laura catches it before it hits Derek.  He’s about to throw another when Laura growls angrily, and thunders in the Alpha tone, “Stop that right now!”

            He shifts back to his human form, dropping the drawer in his hands and sprinting toward the nearest window.  Laura stops him, grabbing him around his middle as he struggles to get away, clawing at her with human fingernails and snapping with his human teeth.  

            “You’re hurting him!” Derek protests.

            “He’s trying to hurt you!” she retorts.  “Derek, I know you want to help him, but he’s--he’s got more issues than we can deal with right now.  I can’t sleep wondering if the new beta you’re sharing a room with is going to try and hurt you any second!”

            “He’s just cranky ‘cause it’s his bedtime!”

            “He’s cranky because he’s _feral,_ Derek!” Laura says, continually making her way toward the door.   “We can’t do this! I don’t know what I was thinking agreeing to this in the first place.  We’ve got too much to handle without adding this to the mix,” she tells him, grabbing her keys from the table by the door.  “He’s got to go back.  I’ll tell Melissa I made a mistake.”

            “He was an omega, and we adopted him!! What about ‘ohana!?”

            “He hasn’t been here that long!”

            “Neither have I!” Derek points out.  “Dad says ‘ohana means family, and family means--”

            “Means no one gets left behind,” Laura says defeatedly.  

            “Or--”

“Or forgotten. I know,” she says with a sigh, and she stopped trying to get John out the door, so Derek figures that’s a good sign.  “I hate it when you use ‘ohana against me.”

She puts John down, and he looks curiously from Derek to Laura like he isn’t quite sure what just happened.  

“You can have the top bunk if you really want it,” Derek says.  “You should’ve used words.  It’s not very nice to mess up pillows and throw knives.”

“Don’t you _ever_ try to hurt him again, you understand?” Laura adds.  “Derek’s right.  You gotta use your words.  He’s not allowed to hurt you, and you aren’t allowed to hurt him either.  Not ever.  If you do, I’m not kidding about calling Ms. McCall.  Understand?”

John nods, biting at his lip as he averts his eyes down to the floor.

“Good,” Laura says.  “Come on; let’s get you two tucked in, okay?”

John clambers up on the top bunk as soon as they reenter the bedroom.  He yanks back the blankets, burrowing under them and grabbing the pillow tight.  When he does, the picture Derek tucked there earlier flutters into the air.  John grabs it, but in the next instant Derek snatches it away.  

“No! That’s mine! Don’t touch it! Not ever!” he yells, looking down at the treasured image and tucking it safely under the pillow on the bottom bunk instead.

“Derek!” Laura scolds.  

“Sorry,” he mutters.  “It’s very fragile.  I didn’t want you to ruin it.”

John doesn’t reply and instead just pulls the blanket up over his head.  Derek climbs into the bottom bunk, trying to get comfortable.  Laura kisses his forehead, and he makes a face like he always does, even though he doesn’t mind that much.  

“Night, Derek,” she says as she rises.  “Night, John,” she adds, but he doesn’t reply.  “I’m right down the hall if you guys need anything.”

 

**************************************************************************

 

            Derek wakes much later to the sound of someone moving things around in the room.  He opens his eyes just a little to see it’s just John.  He’s stacking book and moving Derek’s cars and other toys around to make what look like a city.  Derek gives in to his curiosity and sits up for a better look.  

            “San Francisco?” he asks, and John looks over at him and nods before gathering books to make a few more skyscrapers.  “I thought you only wrecked stuff.  Guess you can build stuff too, huh?”

            John shoots Derek a mischievous grin before shifting to beta form and growling as he smashes over the first tower.  After a few seconds Derek can tell he’s pretending to be some kind of monster wrecking the town.  He built it just to tear it down, and he’s clearly enjoying himself thoroughly.

            “No more sugar for you,” Derek says, repeating Mom’s favorite phrase for when he had too much dessert and he would “act wild”.

“What in the world is going on in here?!” Laura demands, bursting in the door.  

John freezes mid-punch, staring at her with wide eyes.  

“Are you two okay?” Laura wonders.

“Yeah,” Derek says and John nods.  

“Playing, huh?” Laura supposes as she surveys the scene.  “Made quite a mess.”

“It was San Francisco,” Derek tells her.  

“Well, I’d say you have to clean it up right now, but I’d really rather you two just get some sleep.”

“Why do I always have to clean my room if it’s just gonna be messy again?” Derek wonders.  

“Because I say so,” Laura replies.  “John, what’s wrong?” she adds, and Derek follows his sister’s gaze to see that John’s staring transfixed at one of the books that he toppled to the floor earlier.  

He picks it up, and rushes toward Laura, shoving the book into her hands. She takes it from him and looks at the page he frantically points to.

“The Ugly Duckling?” she says.  “What about it?”

John doesn’t answer, just whines and points at the words on the page as he pushes the book higher to toward Laura’s face.

“You want me to read it?”

He nods frantically, and she smiles as she says, “Okay, we can have a bedtime story before you guys go back to sleep _if_ you promise you’ll stay in bed this time.”

John nods again and dutifully heads over toward the bed.  Derek pats the spot next to him.

“Sit down here and we can both see the pictures,” Derek says.  “I can even read this one!”

It’s not entirely true; he can’t _quite_ read all the words, but he knows the story well enough without reading it.  It’s his favorite.  

“Is it okay if Derek reads for us?” Laura asks John, and he shrugs.

“Yes! Gimme!” he tells Laura as she comes to sit on the bed with him.  She hands over the book, and Derek decides to just tell the story from the page John seemed to like so much.  

“That’s the ugly duckling,” he says.  “See, he’s sad because he’s all alone and nobody wants him,” Derek explains. “But then on this page, his family hears him crying, and they find him; and then he’s happy, because he knows where he belongs.”

John reaches to touch the page, and then takes the book out of Derek’s lap and closes it.  He hugs it against his chest as he gets down off the bed and then tucks it under one arm so he can take it with him as he climbs the ladder up to the top bunk.

“Good job, Derek,” Laura praises.  “Now you two get back to sleep, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Night, Laura.”

“Night, Derek; night, John.”

There’s a beat or two of silence as Laura turns toward the door, but it’s broken by a timid voice that comes from the bunk above Derek.

“Isaac,” he says quietly.  “They just called me John Doe at the home, but--but my real name is Isaac.”

Laura crosses back over to their beds; Laura gets up on her tiptoes to lean over the top bunk. Derek hears the smack of her lips and assumes Isaac is getting a kiss on the forehead.

“Goodnight, Isaac.”


	2. And Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the lengthy hiatus! Law school has been kicking my ass.

Isaac watches the sun rise from the window seat of the room he’s shared with Derek for more than ten years now.  He’s got his sketchbook in hand, as always, drawing out the image of Derek as the light streams in over his face.  When he sees this sketch later, Derek will demand Isaac rip it out and throw it away.  Derek looks anything but angelic, lying on his back with his mouth hanging open, drooling just a little as he snores lightly.  Still, Isaac can’t help but be captivated.  He’s never understood how Laura and Derek manage to sleep so much and so deeply.  Isaac barely manages four or five hours a night of light dozing.  Laura says that’s why he’s always so pissed about everything; the doctors say it’s some kind of sleep disorder; Derek says it’s “just Isaac.”

He likes Derek’s explanation the best.  Derek’s always been good at accepting Isaac as he is.  He’s more than happy to help Isaac through the tough stuff, but he’s also content to not have to explain and understand every intimate detail of what goes on in Isaac’s kind of warped brain.  It’s one of the countless reasons Isaac has been in love with Derek Hale since he was five years old.

He never expected Derek to love him back--not in the same way.  He still can’t believe Derek actually _does_ \--or that Laura didn’t kick him out of the pack the second she found out Isaac was sleeping with her little brother.  Then again, they’re never been what you’d call a “normal” pack.  Social services checks in all the time like they’re just holding their breath until the youngest Alpha on the island fucks up.  Isaac’s run-ins at school and misdemeanors with the cops probably don’t help much.  Still, they manage to show enough functionality as a pack to avoid being disbanded.  Isaac tries to stay out of trouble, but he swears half the time the trouble just manages to find him, like the universe knows he got more than he deserved the day the Hales brought him home and now it’s trying to correct the mistake by fucking everything up.

Derek lets out a particularly loud snore and jolts himself awake.  Isaac can’t stifle his laughter.  Derek peeks open an eye and frowns over at Isaac.

“Creeper,” he mutters.

“Sleeping beauty awakes,” Isaac replies.  

“No way,” Derek mumbles, rolling over and burying his face in his pillow.  “Too early.”

“Aw, come on,” Isaac whines.  “You’ve been asleep for ages.”

It’s their never-ending argument.  

“We didn’t get to sleep until two,” Derek reminds.  “Four hours is not ages.”

“Come on; I wanna go down to the beach before school. Come with me,” Isaac requests, crossing the room to shake Derek’s shoulder.  

“Un-uh,” Derek declines.

“C’mon, please? Don’t be a sourwolf.”

“Fuck off,” Derek grumbles.

“Well, that’s kind of what I had in mind,” Isaac murmurs in Derek’s ear, and suddenly Derek seems much more awake and interested in this plan.  Derek rolls over to look at him with a quirked eyebrow.  “Sure you’re not interested?” Isaac wonders, sliding one hand under the covers to palm over Derek’s boxers, encouraging the morning wood that usually serves them pretty well; they might be inconvenient at times, but Isaac is firmly of the opinion that teenage hormones and rebound rates are a gift that should not be wasted.

“Fine; Lemme get pants on,” Derek says, sitting up as Isaac rises from the bed.

“Why bother?” Isaac asks with a smirk, but he tosses Derek a discarded pair of gym shorts from the floor.  

 

******************************************************

 

Just before Derek and Isaac get to the front door, someone pounds three staccato knocks against the wood.  Isaac jumps back, growling as his fangs elongate on instinct.  

“Stop it,” Derek orders, “You don’t even know who it is.”

“Only one asshole I can think of who’d pay a surprise visit this fucking early in the morning,” Isaac mutters in reply.

“He can hear you!” Laura hisses as she stumbles into the living room, struggling to pull her shirt on over her head, which makes her bedhead even worse.

“So?” Isaac huffs, stepping back as Laura moves to open the door.

Christopher Argent, the surly, demeaning welfare agent who’s made Isaac’s life hell for the past ten years stands on their stoop yet again.  He’s frowning deeply, and Isaac knows whatever the hell this jackass has to say is about to ruin his whole fucking day.

“Heard there’s been some trouble at school this week,” he says, gravelly monotone clearly directed at Isaac since he’s staring past Laura like she isn’t even there.  

“That wasn’t my fault,” Isaac replies, crossing his arms as he returns Argent’s glare.

“Thus far, you have been adrift in the sheltered harbor of my patience,” Argent says, and Isaac snorts a laugh at the claim; Laura elbows him in the ribs to shut him up, and Argent continues, “But I cannot ignore disturbingly vivid death threats.”

“Death threats?!” Laura repeats, rounding on Isaac.  “ _Seriously?_!”

“What’s the big deal? I didn’t actually kill anybody.  Jeez.”

“We take this kind of behavior very seriously,” Argent says.  “It’s not safe for others; it’s also not safe to allow violent betas to be with Alphas who don’t stifle these kinds of tendencies.  We’ve had this conversation before, Laura,” Argent reminds.  “Keep him in check, or we’ll do it for you.”

“Yeah, yeah, we know; you’re a big, tough welfare agent who--”

Derek claps a hand over Isaac’s mouth to shut him up. He glares, thinking briefly of biting Derek to make him let go.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Laura says, stepping forward so she’s out on the stoop with Argent and shutting the door behind her.  “He’s just--not a morning person, ya know, and--”

“Laura,” Argent interrupts.  “I’ve tried to give you the benefit of the doubt until now, but no more.  He’s too old to have his alpha making excuses for him.  He’s too volatile for an Alpha who can’t maintain control over him.  The only way you’re going to keep this pack together is if you somehow manage to turn that feral _monster_ into a model citizen. Capche?”

“He’s not a monster! He’s still a kid! He’s working on it! He--”

Isaac shoves away from Derek, heading for the back door.  He doesn’t want to hear this bullshit.  He didn’t actually hurt anyone; he knows that kind of shit can’t fly anymore.  He does smile about one thing as he storms out the back door and lets it slam behind him: if Jennifer Blake reported him, he succeeded in scaring the shit out of her.  Serves her right for trying to fuck over his boyfriend...

 

*********************************************************

 

Isaac goes to school because he knows that even the shittiest of mornings isn’t going to keep Laura from grounding him for a month if he skips.  He’s not even remotely surprised when Morrell stops him on the way in to inform him that they’ve decided he’ll serve today and tomorrow in in-house-suspension.  It’s pretty par for the course really, and maybe he should care more than he does.  It’s hard to though, when IHS means he can do all his assignments without having to worry about anybody getting on his fucking nerves and sleep when he’s done.  Besides, Finstock usually trades lunch stuff with him, so that’s cool.

Derek’s waiting for him outside school when the final bell rings.  Judging by the kicked-puppy look on his face, he’s still thinking about everything that went on this morning.  Isaac always waits for Derek to admit he regrets picking Isaac out of that huge room of little omegas, but so far the day hasn’t come.  Judging by the smile Derek gives when he sees Isaac, today isn’t that day either.

“Hey,” Derek greets.  “How’s Finstock?” he wonders.

“Still the coolest dude they could possibly have in charge of that hellhole,” Isaac replies.  “Let me goof off with his new guitar when I got done with all the busy work the teachers sent.”

“Speaking of your best non-violent skill,” Derek replies.  “I was thinking about what Argent said this morning.”

“Sorry about that, dude,” Isaac replies, vague because he knows Derek wants an apology for Isaac causing Laura trouble.

But if he’s honest Isaac’s really only sorry Argent takes his whole welfare agent gig way too seriously.  And kind of sorry Blake is a grade-A bitch and wimpy tattletale.  

“I know,” Derek replies, “just, it really freaks Laura out, ya know? Me too.  If we do something that ever finally sets him off, he really could rip us apart.”

“Literally or figuratively.”

“Both,” Derek replies, “and that’s not funny.  What the hell did you say to Jennifer? She was looking over her shoulder all day.”

“Good,” Isaac replies.

“I hope you didn’t do that on my account.”

_I didn’t.  I don’t like people fucking with you.  So I made sure she’d stop trying to play you like a goddamn fiddle._

“You’d rather it was just a random outburst?” Isaac wonders, quirking an eyebrow.

“I just mean--you don’t have to do stuff like that for me.  I’m fine.  I can totally take it.”

“I know you can,” Isaac replies.  “Doesn’t mean you should have to.”

“Isaac--”

“I know; I get your point; can we just--not? Laura’s gonna lecture me when we get home anyway.”

“She’s just worried.”

“I know.”

“But about the whole non-violent skill,” Derek says, bringing them back to whatever he originally intended this conversation to be.  “I think I kind of have an idea for how to kind of play along with Argent’s whole ‘model citizen’ thing.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, Ms. Larkin was talking about this charity concert on the beach Saturday.  They need a bass player.”

“Seriously, Derek?”

“Come on; you know you could rock the hell out of it.”

“There is no way to ‘rock’ a charity concert,” Isaac says dubiously.  

“If anyone could do it, it would be you,” Derek persists.  “You know how sexy you look with a guitar in your hand,” he goes on, leaning in to murmur in Isaac’s ear.  “You be the bassist and I’ll be the starstruck groupie.”

And that makes Isaac consider this insane proposition, if only for a second.  He’s been playing every instrument he could get his hands on since he can remember.  He just doesn’t usually play for anyone except Derek and Laura.  He guesses he could though, if it really makes that big of a difference, and if it means Argent getting off their case for a while.  

“My groupie, huh?” Isaac wonders, grinning at the prospect.

“Yep,” Derek replies, sucking at Isaac’s earlobe.

“Fuck,” Isaac hisses, pulling Derek in closer, cupping his perky ass and giving a squeeze.  

Derek brings his lips to Isaac's, fucking his tongue into Isaac’s mouth and backing him against the rough brick wall outside the school.  Someone catcalls from the general direction of the parking lot.  Isaac doesn’t break away from Derek, just holds one hand behind him to flip off the voyeur.

“Get a goddamn room would you, freaks?” Jackson snaps from a few feet away.

This time Isaac does pause to turn from Derek, growling in annoyance.  

“Buzz off, Whittemore,” Derek replies.

“Practice in five minutes, and I’m not a fan of the whole fucking team having to run laps because you two were too busy hooking up to get there on time,” Jackson says.

“You’re one to talk,” Isaac snarks back.  “You didn’t even show to half the practices last week.”

“Can’t help it if I’m just that much better than the rest of you asshats.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Isaac mutters to Jackson’s retreating back.

“Hey,” Derek says, pulling Isaac’s face back to him.  “Don’t pick fights with him. He’s not worth it.  You know that.”

“Doesn’t stop the urge to wipe that smug grin off his face.”

“Come on.  Let’s go get changed and stuff,” Derek says, pushing away from the wall and heading toward the fieldhouse.

 

*************************************************************

 

“Where the hell are the keys, Derek?” Isaac yells through the house as he searches frantically.   “I’m gonna be late.”

He may or not actually be running late because he couldn’t decide if he wanted to wear something that just looked nice, or something that said “don’t care how I look” or something that was like grunge or rock and roll or any of the other million “looks.”  In the end he settled for something simple: a henly stolen from Derek, some dark wash jeans, and his black converse.  he then may or may not have spent a solid fifteen minutes trying to style his hair so it wouldn’t look styled.  

 _Oh God,  I’m going to be late because I couldn’t pick out the right outfit and I was fixing my hair, I’m pathetic.  I’m nuts. I’m going to be so fucking late_ , he berates as he continues the desperate search for the keys,

“Actually I thought I’d give you a ride,” Laura says, catching Isaac off guard.

“I thought you had work today?”

“And miss your big debut? No way,” she replies with a smile.  “I traded for a different shift.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to. I’m really proud of you stepping up and doing this.”

“Well, uh--thanks,” Isaac says, unaccustomed to this much genuine praise, especially lately.  “I mean.  It’s not a big deal.  Just a nine song set list, so--over before you know it and all, but--uh--we should get going.”

“Got everything you need?” she wonders.

“Yeah, I’m good.  Just couldn’t find the car keys, but you’re driving so--”

“Hey I got ‘em!” Derek calls from the back of the house.  “You ready to go?” he wonders as he walks in.

“Actually, uh--Laura’s coming,” Isaac replies.  

“Oh, awesome.  We’ll just all ride together then?”

“Yeah, c’mon,” Laura says, leading the way out the door.

Isaac has to admit he likes the feeling of happiness thrumming through the car as they ride toward the beach.  Laura’s never been anything but good to him, but he’s never clicked with her the way Derek does.   Honestly, Isaac doesn’t really ‘click’ with anyone.  Except Derek, but sometimes he wonders if it isn’t more that Derek just has a higher tolerance for Isaac’s bullshit.  Laura tells him at least three more times how glad she is that he’s volunteering to help out.  She even gives him a hug when they get out of the car, and he hugs back even though it’s embarrassing as hell.

“Knock ‘em dead,” she tells him as he leaves.

“Yeah, sure,” he replies, stealing a quick kiss from Derek before he heads up to the stage.

“Wave to us from the stage!” Laura adds.

“No way in hell,” he calls back, and she grins at that, shaking her head at him.

When he arrives at the little backstage area, the group before them--some god-awful bluegrass group--is already playing.  Ms. Larkin says again and again how grateful she is that he’s filling in for the bassist they had lined up, who apparently broke his hand playing baseball.  The longer they spend setting up and going over things, the more nervous Isaac gets.  By the time the MC announces their entrance, he thinks he just might puke when he gets out on the stage.  His hands are shaking, and he’s doing his best to just remember to fucking breathe.

Then he catches sight of Derek out in the crowd, smiling like a total doof, but that’s what makes it awesome.  He’s looking at Isaac like he’s the only thing worth seeing.  Some of the tension in Isaac’s chest releases, and he finally draws in a deep breath.

“And Isaac Hale on the bass!” the MC announces, and the crowd applauds.  

Isaac waves awkwardly, trying not to think about how many people there are.  Derek said it was just a little thing.  Nothing major.  But there are a lot of people.  Especially compared to the four person maximum he’s played in front of before.

 _Just imagine you’re home in the living room, playing for us,_ Derek had said this afternoon.   _You’re gonna do great._

So he does.   He closes his eyes for a second, just listening to the music, kind of proud of the way they don’t sound totally awful even though they barely practiced.  The sound of the drums reverberates through his chest, and the chords off the lead guitar humm through the air.  It’s not so bad once they get a couple songs in.   It’s really fucking awesome actually.

He finds Derek in the crowd again when he opens his eyes, noting that he and Laura are pushing their way toward the stage.  They’re both beaming at him, and Isaac thinks he could do with a few more moments like this.  

 _Eat your heart out, Chris Argent,_ he thinks. _You want a model citizen.  I’ll fucking give you one._

Isaac can’t believe how sorry he is when the set ends.  He kind of hopes that they’ll give in to the encore Derek and Laura shout loudly for, but it’s time for the headliner band, the one actually getting paid a bit to be here.  So they take their bows and head offstage.  Isaac’s alight with adrenaline, still riding the high of the successful performance, heading to stow his bass in the trunk before going to find Laura and Derek.

And then Whittemore ruins it all.

“Oh my God, it’s freakshow Isaac!” he says in mock awe.  “Can I get your autograph?!”

“Fuck off,” Isaac replies, turning away to put his bass in its case.

“Maybe you can sign in Jennifer’s blood,” Greenberg suggests.  “Since you probably are psycho enough to fuck her up like you said.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Isaac lies.

“You know damn well what he’s talking about,” Jackson replies.  “She hasn’t slept in days, you asshole.”

Isaac huffs a laugh before he can check his reaction, and Jackson shoves him.  “You think that’s fuckig funny? You get off on terrifying teenage girls?”

“She’s not some delicate little flower, Whittemore.  She’s a sadistic, manipulative--”

“Shut up,” Greenberg orders.

“Oh, right, I forgot you think the sun shines out of her ass, Greenberg.  Bet you were pissed when she decided to try and get her claws in Derek instead of you.”

“I said shut up.”

“Think acting all tough and giving me shit on her behalf is going to earn you brownie points?  Good luck with that.  Fucking pathetic.”

Greenburg shoves Isaac hard, “I’ll show you fucking pathetic!” he rages.

“Get off me!” Isaac thunders.

He can’t get in a fight.  Not now. Not tonight. Not when things are going so well.  Getting in a fight will undo all the good graces he just earned.  And if he gets arrested, Argent will have a goddamn field day.  So when Greenburg throws a punch, Isaac just dodges it.  And the second, and the third.  But then Jackson blindsides him, sending Isaac to his knees in the hot gravel of the parking lot, and the whole world spins so he never sees the kick that follows coming.  He lashes out because he’s clearly not avoiding a fight, but Greenburg throws a handful of gravel and sand in his face, blinding him.  Next thing Isaac knows they’re picking him up from the ground, and he doesn’t realize they’re cramming him in the trunk of the car until the lid thunks down on top of him.

“NO!” he shrieks into the darkness, and he can hear them cackling outside.  “Let me the fuck out of here! Let me out! Let me out!  I will fucking _rip you apart_ if you don’t open this goddamn trunk _right now_!”

Once his breath is spent, he can’t seem to draw anymore.  There’s no weight on his chest, but he still feels like he’s being crushed, like the trunk in closing on on him, trapping him.  He swears there’s no air in here, not a single fucking molecule.  He’s going to die.  He’s going to fucking suffocate. He punches and picks against his metal coffin, denting the lid of the trunk but never breaking through.  He tries to keep screaming, but he can’t find the extra air.

_Oh, God I’m really gonna die. I really am. Fuck. Fuck! NO! Somebody help me, please. Please! Derek! Laura! Somebody!_

“Hey, is somebody in there?!” an unfamiliar voice calls from outside.  “Hold on, just--uh--gimme a second.”

He doesn’t mean to come out fighting, but he does, swiping at anything nearby with a pulse, determined that nothing will put him back into the darkness.  People scream, he thinks maybe he’s screaming too, but he doesn’t stop or calm down until the growl of an Alpha sends terror through his veins.  He shifts back to human form as he cowers away from the sound.  

“Isaac, hey look at me!” Derek’s voice orders.  “Laura’s just trying to calm you down.  You’re okay.  It’s okay.”

“I couldn’t--couldn’t--breathe. I couldn’t get out--”

“Dude, you like totally flipped your shit,” a bystander informs, and it’s only then that Isaac takes in the fact that there’s a crowd of people around.  “Get it together.”  

More than one of them display healing wounds that suggest he lashed out at them as he panicked.   

“He got locked in a trunk!” Laura growls, and Isaac looks up to see her eyes are still glowing red. “You’d do the same thing.”

No they wouldn’t.  I’m fucking insane.  I’m a freak show, just like they say.  I don’t mean to be, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am.

“I’m sorry,” Isaac mumbles, hiding his face in Derek’s chest because he doesn’t have the energy to be angry; it’s taking all his control not to burst into tears in front of all these strangers.

“It’s okay,” Derek tells him again, running fingers through Isaac’s hair. “You’re okay. Let’s just get out of here, okay? Let’s walk down the beach?”

“Yeah.”

He releases Derek but keeps a death grip on his hand.  Laura comes to walk beside him, taking his other hand and holding it tightly.  She waits until they get away from the still-staring crowd to ask.

“Who?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Isaac replies, “We can’t do anything about it.”

“We can report the little bastards.  We’ll make sure--”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he insists.  “ It’s going to be bad enough when Argent calls to curse you out because someone reported the fucking feral werewolf at the--”

“You’re not feral,” Derek counters.

“Can we just not talk right now.  Please?

“Yeah, okay,” Laura agrees, “Just remember we got your back.”

“I know.”

They walk farther down the beach in silence for a while, the sounds of the concert and the crowd surrounding them fade into the background, replaced with the calming sound of the pounding surf.  Up ahead someone’s coming out onto the beach with a surf board.  It’s not until he calls to them that Isaac recognizes the man as Jordan Parrish.

“Hey, Laura!” he says, waving a little too excitedly as he drops the board and hurries toward them.  “You guys okay?” he wonders when he gets close enough to read the somber expressions.

“Kind of a rough day,” Derek replies vaguely.  

“Well, ya know, I might not be a doctor, but I know there’s no better cure for a sour face, and a couple boards and some choice waves.”

Could you be any more cheesy, dude?

“That sounds really great actually,” Laura replies, but then she glances at Isaac, “but--uh--maybe some other time.”

Isaac fucking _hates_ the water.  Just one toe in it and he feels like he can’t breathe.  He prefers the sand, listening to the methodical sound of the waves, enjoying how open it beach feels.  But Laura clearly wants to blow off some steam, and Derek is giving him this pleading look.

“No, it does sound good,” Isaac agrees.  “Let’s--uh--let’s do it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, you go on out.  I’ll just--”

“You can ride out with me,” Derek says.  “We’ll just paddle out, not catch waves, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Isaac agrees, hoping this will distract from the catastrophe in the parking lot.  

“We didn’t bring our boards though,” Laura realizes.

“Come on,” Jordan says.  “I’ve got an extra board you can use in the Jeep.  And Derek and Isaac can take out the paddleboard?”

“Perfect!”

Laura looks so fucking happy when they get in the water, and Isaac likes seeing her this way.  She’s so fucking stressed all the time; he forgets she’s only five years older than them.  Derek says she’ll date Jordan one of these days, maybe when Isaac and Derek get older.  It’s pretty fucking clear they’re both gone on each other.

As Derek pushes the board out, swimming alongside, Isaac grips the sides of the board so tight that his knuckles turn white.  Derek smiles up at him from the water though, clearly happy to be out here with Isaac, so that eases some of the tension.  

“Not too deep, though,” Isaac reminds, still on edge.  

“Okay,” Derek agrees.  

Isaac grips the board even harder as Derek comes up to join him.  Derek sits opposite him, and leans in for a quick kiss.  Isaac manages a smile.  

“Don’t worry about earlier,” Derek says.  “Really.”

“I don’t know why I even bother,” Isaac mutters.  “We know everything’s just going to get fucked up eventually.  What’s the point?”

“Hey, you were awesome up there.   Don’t let what happened after take away from that.  You totally saved the day stepping in to play.  Ms. Larkin said so like a million times.”

“Yeah, that part was pretty good,” Isaac admits, “I didn’t totally choke at least.”

“You rocked it,” Derek replies.  “Don’t sell yourself short.”

“You do make a pretty good groupie,” Isaac says with a grin.  “Gonna put up a poster of me in your room?”

“Don’t need to; I got the real deal.”

“Good point.”

Derek turns on the board, adjusting so that Isaac can lean back into him a little bit.  The paddleboard is way more stable than Derek’s surfboard, but the feeling of security might also be coming from Derek’s arm wrapped around Isaac’s waist.  

They settle into a comfortable silence.  Isaac closes his eyes, imagining they’re the only people in the world.  None of this matters.  Sometimes, he thinks if they could just get off this island--get away from all these fucking annoying people--they could be happy all the time.  But Derek likes people, Laura does too.  He’d have to give them up to get the solitude, and he’s not sure he’s willing to lose them.  

Maybe it’s the sound of the waves crashing up on the shore and the warm sun, maybe he’s just exhausted from the day, but he keeps his eyes closed so long he nods off, head falling to his chest and waking him.  Derek laughs, as Isaac opens his eyes, but all Isaac sees is how far away the shore looks.

“We’re not washing in.  Why aren’t we washing in? We’re too far out, Derek! Why didn’t you _say_ something?!”

“We’re not that deep.  The currents just pulling us out a little bit.  It’s okay.”

“We’re too far out,” Isaac repeats gripping tight to the board.  “Derek, look how--”

“Okay, okay, I’ll push us back in,” Derek says, slipping from the board back into the water, and for a second Isaac can breathe again, until Derek starts pushing and they keep going further out.

“Derek.”

“We’re okay.  Current’s just a little stronger than I thought.”

_“Derek.”_

“We’re okay.”

“Laura!” Isaac calls instead.  “Jordan!”

“Isaac, it’s okay.  I swear.  We just have to--”

A big wave washes over Derek, and he sputters.  Isaac things he honest to God might throw up.  

“Isaac, look at me.  It’s fine!”

“I don’t even like the water, Derek.  I fucking _hate_ it out here but you two just _have_ to love it so goddamned much!”

“You guys okay?” Laura calls starting to paddle toward them; Jordan follows suit.  

“No!” Isaac replies as Derek says, “Yeah!”

“We’re not okay; we’re out too far.  The current’s to strong and--and--”

_And I can’t breathe.  I can’t.  We’re too far.  We’re going to get pulled out so far we won’t even see the shore anymore, and I can’t swim well enough to fight it.  We’re going to drown.  Oh, God I’m gonna drown.  Oh, God. Oh, God, Oh, God._

The wave that knocks him off didn’t seem that big.  Maybe it’s because his palms were getting sweaty as he freaked.  Maybe he just wasn’t as well-seated as he thought.  Whatever the cause, terror consumes Isaac as the water covers his head.  He fights back to the surface, forcing his terror-frozen body to try and swim.  

“Help!” he gasps, but he only swallows more water, and his head goes under again as he sputters.

He flails, clawing to find the board again and grab hold, but his hands find Derek first and he holds on for dear life.  But Derek can’t keep them up either, and they’re sinking.  Isaac’s lungs burn, and he tries to kick toward the surface but they’re still sinking.  And Derek’s trying to push him off, but that just makes Isaac want to hold more tightly.  When he thinks his head is about to explode from the pain, he sucks in water, and for a second, just one second it doesn’t hurt anymore.

And then everything goes black.

 

*******************************************************

 

Isaac comes back to the world with a gasp of air so painful he thinks his lungs might actually be on fire.  He fights for the surface, trying to make sure his head stays above water this time.  But then there’s a growl and he realizes he’s on dry sand and someone’s trying to hold him down, so he swipes a clawed hand up at the captor he can’t see.

“Jesus, Isaac! What the fuck?!” Jordan demands, and Isaac realizes Jordan Parrish is the one kneeling next to him.  He stops fighting as Jordan retreats, gulping in air before retching up seawater again.  

“That’s it; get it out,” Jordan says.  “You’re okay.”

_I thought I was dead.  I totally thought I was dead._

_Oh, shit; Derek._

“Derek?!” he demands, voice raspy from the abuse his throat has taken, and he turns his head to either side before he catches sight of Laura kneeling over Derek.  

For one heart-stopping moment, he thinks Derek is the one who’s dead, but then Laura shifts just slightly and he can see Derek looking up at her.

“He’s okay I think,” Jordan says.

“Derek, I didn’t mean to--”

“We know,” Laura interjects, and when she turns to look at Isaac her eyes are cold and hard and he knows he really fucked up this time.  

“I’m okay,” Derek assures with the familiar warm smile, still patient with Isaac even though Isaac could’ve gotten them killed.

_Of course, if you’d just paid attention.  Or not taken me out there to start with.  We wouldn’t have this problem._

Derek coughs, derailing Isaac’s mental blame game, and he sits up, intent on moving closer to them.  Instead, he catches sight of a still form that stands watching the scene unfold.  Before he can stop himself a hushed, “Fuck,” escapes his lips.  Laura looks away from Derek to follow Isaac’s gaze.

“Mr. Argent,” she says, hurrying to her feet.  “This--this isn’t what it looks like; we just had--had a little accident, and--”

“And you nearly let both your betas drown?” he demands, unforgiving.

“It was an accident!” Jordan protests, rising to his feet as well.  “It happens.  They just--”

“A word, Laura?” Argent interjects nodding his head to the side; they might walk away, but it’s not out of earshot.   “The whole reason I was headed this way was because I was following the reports of a rogue beta down near the concert.”

“That wasn’t his fault! He--”

“Things aren’t going to get any easier as they get older, you know.  If anything, the last few years that they’re minors are the most challenging.  Maybe I won’t be checking in as often once they’re out of school, but you’ll still be responsible for keeping them safe every minute of every day. I know you’re trying, Laura, but you need to think about what’s best for your betas.  Even if it removes you from the picture.”

“What are you saying?”

“There’s a certain point where we have to recognize that this just isn’t working,” Argent replies.  “And you need to get them back into the system before they’re too old.  At least give them a fighting chance of finding a pack that can be what they need.”

“No, you can’t--”

“Take tonight to say your goodbyes,” Argent says.  “I’ll be back tomorrow morning for Isaac and Derek.  I’m sorry.”

_No._

_No, he can’t. He can’t do that.  He---he---_

_He’s the welfare agent.  He’s got every right to split us up.  Send me and Derek to the Omega home.  Leave Laura alone--to try and survive on her own or beg a pack to take her once she falls from Alpha._

_Oh, God, this can’t be happening.  It can’t.  It can’t be happening._

Argent walks away calmly, like he hasn’t just delivered the bombshell that will destroy them all.  Laura’s eyes are still wide in shock, but tears well up when she looks back at her brother and then glances over to Isaac.  

“Something I can do?” Jordan asks as she passes.  “Anything?”

“No, Jordan.  I just--I need to take them home now.  Come on, guys.”

Derek gets to his feet to follow, but Isaac can’t seem to make his legs work.  He just stares in shock as Laura and Derek walk back in the direction of the parking lot.   Jordan doesn’t move either, but he does break the silence.

“You know. I really thought they had a chance,” he says.  “Even though the whole family was gone, she was so determined to make it work I figured she could really pull it off.” He glares at Isaac as he adds, “but then you came along.”

“Maybe you should’ve let me drown,” Isaac replies, pushing past Jordan to trudge down the beach after Laura and Derek.

 

***********************************************************************

 

No one speaks the whole ride home.  No one speaks when they walk into the house that Derek and Isaac are supposed to leave behind forever in less than twenty-four hours.  No one stops Isaac as he retreats to his bed, staring up at the ceiling as he tries to figure out how in the hell to stop all this.  But he hasn’t got any control over this, not a single fucking shred.  

 _Pretty sure today is the day Derek finally regrets picking me out at the home,_ he supposes bitterly.

He wouldn’t blame Derek if he came through the door swinging, shouting all the reasons he hates Isaac and all the reasons this is Isaac’s fault.  Isaac hates having to witness the look of grief on Derek’s eyes as he takes Isaac’s usual spot on the window seat, moonlight shining on his tear-streaked face.  He reaches for the framed picture of his family on the wall by the window.  The same tattered one he used to keep under his pillow when they were younger.  He stares at it a long time, and Isaac just keep staring at Derek, desperate for some way to keep him.

“You know what happened to my parents; you know about the wreck, and how sudden everything was, how Laura gave up everything to keep us together.  But you’ve never said anything about your family, Isaac.”

Isaac doesn’t reply, but he sits up on his bunk, so tall now that there’s only about an inch of space between the top of his head and the ceiling.

“Not once,” Derek goes on.  “All we know about what happened before is the Omega Home is that maybe it’s the reason you hate small spaces and the water, and even that’s just guesswork.”

Isaac still doesn’t reply, but he doesn’t like looking down on Derek like this, so he climbs down the ladder and sits on Derek’s bunk instead.  Derek waits, but when Isaac never speaks he says, “Look,  I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I just--I have to understand _why_.”

Isaac waits another moment or two before he supposes Derek meant, “Why I’m so fucked up?”

“I didnt’ say that.”

“You don’t have to,” Isaac replies with a shrug.  “We both know I am.”

“I want to understand, Isaac.  So badly.  We’re best friends.  I’ve heard you cry when you think I’m asleep.  I’ve seen you wake up screaming from nightmares.  Even after years of being with us.  I know whatever happened before has to be some part of what goes on with you.   What happened back then? How’d you end up on your own?”

When Isaac doesn’t reply immediately, Derek says,  “You owe me an explanation. It’s time.”

“I owe you a lot more than an explanation.”

“I’ve told you a million times, you’re always part of this family.  Maybe we’re always just scraping by, but we’re still a family.  ‘Ohana, Isaac.  No matter what you say--”

“Nobody gets left behind.  I know.”

“Or forgotten,” Derek reminds.  “Even if they really split us up.  We’re still family.  We’ll still all love each other.”

“I was born this way,” Isaac replies.  “Born fucked up.”

“Don’t say that, you’re--”

“Just listen,” Isaac demands, cutting across Derek’s misplaced sympathy.  “I’m trying to answer your goddamn question, okay? That’s why I was on my own.  I was fucked in the head from the moment I was born, and I got all those fears from what they did to try and fix me but--but it clearly--it never worked,” he finishes, words starting to catch in his throat.  “So that’s your explanation.  The problem isn’t the years you don’t know about.  The problem is me.”

Derek stands, and Isaac winces, readying for whatever verbal or physical assault comes next.  Except Derek doesn’t say anything, and he moves slow and deliberate to come sit down beside Isaac, take Isaac’s hand in his, and lean his head over on Isaac’s shoulder.

“Didn’t you--didn’t you hear what I said?” Isaac asks incredulously.  

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Derek counters.  “‘Ohana,” he repeats, like it’s the simplest, most obvious thing in the world.

_Ohana? Still? Even when I tell you that I’m the problem?_

_Because I am.  They tried to tell me all those years ago.  They said it over and over. That what they were doing was all for my own good, for everyone’s good. I just never listened.  I ran away anyhow.  I joined your family and ruined everything._

_All because you convinced Laura to let me stay with that damn “nobody gets left behind.”  Maybe that’s ‘family’ but it’s not survival.  Maybe sometimes you should leave people behind.  It’s the logical thing.  All Laura did by keeping me was delay the inevitable.  I’m still going back to the home.  It’s just that now I actually know what I’m losing._

The memories of those few days in the home, trapped in his beta form as terror surged through his veins and all the others laughed and stared and called him a feral freak, are still seared into his mind.  He doesn’t want to go back there, even if he is older now, more in control.  He doesn’t want to see Derek there either, knowing they might never get picked for a pack at all, much less one together.

And Isaac decides he’s not going to go back there.  He’s just going to leave.  And maybe, maybe with him gone, Derek can just stay with Laura.  At the least, Isaac won’t have to see the agony on their faces when Argent comes to take them away tomorrow.  He’ll be long gone by then.  

So when Derek finally drifts off to sleep, hours later, Isaac grabs a bag, shoves in a couple changes of clothes, his sketchbook, and the worn copy of The Ugly Duckling that Derek read on their first night together in this room.  He slips out the window, and doesn’t look back so he won’t be tempted to turn around. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for the record, I know very little about surfing, so I took some liberties. but hey, this is a crack!fic of a disney movie, so ya know, hopefully you're not here for my knowledge of water sports.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm over on tumblr as vague-shadows.tumblr.com if you ever care to drop by :) 
> 
> Shoutout to Strangeredlantern for being the best writing buddy EVER and indulging in my random/crazy AU idea out of nowhere


End file.
